37

I inherited a bar set. It has a wide variety of glassware, all of which I recognize except this piece

enter image description here

The bottom portion holds a 1/2 cup. There is a small hole connecting the top and bottom. The top section is about 2in in diameter with a 3/4 inch opening between the top and the bottom. It is awkward to pour out of it and impossible to drink out of it. There are 12 of them, along with all the other glassware.

There are no markings on the glassware or the bar itself. The bar only contains liquor glasses (Collins glass, cordial glass, old fashion glass, shot glass) and no wine glasses or beer glasses.

What is its purpose?

Shadow
  • 635
  • 1
  • 5
  • 12
StrongBad
  • 411
  • 1
  • 4
  • 7
  • 1
    What a fun vintage piece! Are there any marks or stamps on them? – elbrant Dec 03 '18 at 02:25
  • It looks like an oil lamp to me - like [these things](https://www.londoncandles.uk/product/orbital-glass-oil-lamp-candle-case-2/). But Gloriaz' link makes me doubt. What's the size of the hole? – Mr Lister Dec 03 '18 at 07:44
  • @elbrant see edits – StrongBad Dec 03 '18 at 15:59
  • @moscafj I rolled back your edit since I am not convinced the "glass" is actually a glass. One answer has proposed it is a vase and another a decanter. – StrongBad Dec 03 '18 at 16:44
  • @StrongBad From an editorial perspective, I'm not sure that "(???)" is the best way to signify your concern, but it's your question...so, no problem here. – moscafj Dec 03 '18 at 18:41
  • I guessed it was an egg cup, but that's not something found in a bar set. – Criggie Dec 04 '18 at 00:56
  • Candle? Oil in the bottom, a wick that fits snugly in the constriction, trimmed to the same height as the top edge of the glass. Light and enjoy. – Steve Dec 05 '18 at 05:57
  • @Steve But the OP said the hole was 3/4" in diameter, which is a bit large to fit a wick. On the other hand, the rim doesn't look smooth enough for it to be a drinking glass. Maybe it is a hyacinth vase after all, for very small bulbs. – Mr Lister Dec 05 '18 at 07:32

3 Answers3

56

It's a double bubble shot glass designed for a shot (on top) and the chaser of your choice on the bottom. It is just a novelty and fancy way of presenting special drinks.

Picture of a double-shot glass filled with two differently-tinted liquids

Here's a video showing how it's used.

mech
  • 2,543
  • 6
  • 23
  • 24
GloriaZ
  • 871
  • 5
  • 8
  • i've never seen such a thing -- brilliant! – franko Dec 03 '18 at 03:13
  • 3
    Are you intended to just pour the chaser into another glass in order to drink it, or drink it out of the double-bubble glass, or what? – Tanner Swett Dec 03 '18 at 04:28
  • 1
    I have never personally had a drink from it, but it seemed like they would drink the entire shot and chaser at once. The two stayed separated until you tipped it over and drank it. – GloriaZ Dec 03 '18 at 04:50
  • [Homepage link](https://www.quaffer.com/) – mcalex Dec 03 '18 at 09:57
  • 6
    This definitely calls for confirmation. Time to look up a nice double bubble shot and try it out. – StrongBad Dec 03 '18 at 12:15
  • 2
    I've gotten one of these from a Dave and Busters, called an Over Under or the likes. Buy the drink, keep the glass is part of the deal. – agweber Dec 03 '18 at 18:48
  • 3
    @GloriaZ I've used one of these, and can confirm that's how you use it (or, at least, that's how I was told to use it). There's too much liquid to drink the whole thing in one gulp, but in my limited test cases, the first gulp finishes most of the shot, and there's two or three gulps left of chaser. There's a bit of mixing, but it's negligible. – Lord Farquaad Dec 03 '18 at 20:38
  • 1
    @mech That is so much better! Thanks for the help. – GloriaZ Dec 04 '18 at 14:19
  • My first thought was that it would be great for making a [Sumerian Sunset](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Samarian_sunset) (or at least the [21st century version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiazFtdV60M)). – 1006a Dec 05 '18 at 04:41
9

It looks exactly like a vase for growing hyacinths to me.

Edit: This is wrong. As noted in comments, a hyacinth vase has a larger hole. Search for "bubble shot glass" images to see the OP's object. Previous answer continues below...

The bulb sits in the top and roots grown into the water below (you have to let the water touch the bulb until the roots grow).

See this advert on Amazon

Row of hyacinth vases

Martin Bonner supports Monica
  • 217
  • 1
  • 7
  • 8
    Interesting, but it seems the narrow part is narrower on the glass in question. – Luciano Dec 03 '18 at 11:47
  • 5
    @Luciano is right - hyacinth glasses are wider to ensure that the whole root plate is free and the roots can grow unrestrictedly. – Stephie Dec 03 '18 at 12:22
  • 2
    Is the hyacinth typically used in alcoholic drinks? OP got this in a bar set, so I'm just curious if these are typical in drinks? – BruceWayne Dec 04 '18 at 16:19
  • @BruceWayne No. I am sure GloriaZ has it right. Searching for "bubble shot glass" finds lots of hits. – Martin Bonner supports Monica Dec 04 '18 at 16:56
  • @BruceWayne just because an item comes with others designed for a certain use does not *necessarily* mean that this is true for said item as well: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/90239/what-is-this-odd-tool-used-for – Stephie Dec 05 '18 at 07:21
4

I haven't come across one for single servings, but this looks very much like a red wine decanter, used to improve the flavour of a red wine by aerating it.

The top bulb is to pour your freshly opened red wine into. The wine passes through the intentionally narrow neck and flows down the inside of the glass in the lower bulb. This exposes as much surface area of the wine as possible to air, allowing it to breathe. This improves the flavour and gives the wine a smoother feel in the mouth.

Aeration is usually done by passing the wine through an aerator - a device with two or more openings, allowing the wine to pass through, or which passes bubbles through the wine - or a decanter which uses a large surface area to do the trick. Without one of these devices, a wine drinker will typically swirl the wine in the glass to reproduce the effect at a smaller scale.

The scale of yours, coupled with it belonging to a bar set, implies that it's intended to be used for a single serving/glass at once.

When turned upside down, it should fit fairly neatly into the mouth of the red wine drinking glasses in the rest of the set. This allows a second aeration, offsetting the relatively small bulb, and gives the pourer a chance to show off.

pbeentje
  • 141
  • 2
  • That was my thought, but the bar set has no wine glasses, just liquor glasses. – StrongBad Dec 03 '18 at 15:56
  • @J... thanks, I've corrected the text. Please edit or let me know if there's something else that should be improved. – pbeentje Dec 04 '18 at 08:39
  • @StrongBad how odd. A quick search for liquor aeration returns a mixed bag; does the glass fit into the neck of your liquor glasses? I couldn't imagine that the double bubble shot suggestion was right, given you had already stated it was impossible to drink out of and the narrowness of the neck, but let us know how that double shot went! – pbeentje Dec 04 '18 at 08:51